Manipur home minister Govindas Konthoujam on Friday said the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with Kuki militant groups had not been extended, as security forces stepped up a crackdown following the killing of three Meitei youths in Imphal East earlier this week.
He said 18 cadres found at a designated Kuki militant camp in Kangpokpi district were being investigated, with 17 set to be formally arrested on Friday as their identities and affiliations were established.
The Suspension of Operations pact was first signed on August 22, 2008, between the governments of India and Manipur and Kuki militant groups representing 25 outfits under two umbrella organisations: the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), which comprises 17 outfits, and the United People’s Front (UPF), which comprises eight outfits. The pact aimed to cease hostilities, with the militant groups agreeing to completely stop any form of violence.
The cadres of these groups are housed at 14 designated camps.
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The latest SoO pact was renewed during President’s Rule in Manipur on September 4, 2025, for a period of one year, despite demands from people across the state, particularly members of the Meitei community, for the pact to be abrogated.
Search operations were underway to arrest all those involved in the killing of three Meitei youths in Imphal East four days ago.
“There is no SoO agreement in existence in the state and therefore the question of violation of SoO ground rules does not arise. Eighteen cadres were found inside Sinai camp (a Kuki militant designated camp in Kangpokpi district) during security operation recently. Among them one was identified as a cadre of Kuki National Front (KNF) (a Kuki militants outfit under the two umbrella group) while the identities and affiliations of the remaining 17 cadres are yet to be established. All the 17 will be formally arrested on Friday,” said Konthoujam.
Around 9 am on Monday, militants opened fire on 16 firewood collectors — all belonging to the Meitei community — at Khongban Sunurok village in Imphal East district. Three people were killed and three others were injured.
Police said the deceased were identified as Lairenlakpam Inaobi, 57, and Arubam Ronin, 35, both from Nongshum village, and Keshtrimayum Sushil, 32, from Uyumpok village. Both villages are in the Meitei-dominated Imphal East district, bordering the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district.
Security forces subsequently apprehended three individuals, two of whom allegedly admitted to involvement in the assault, police had said.
Interrogation of the three suspects was underway, Konthoujam said, adding that one was suspected to be a cadre of the KNF (N). Police suspect their involvement in the killings, but further details are expected to emerge from the ongoing investigation.
“The operation will continue in connection with the recent killing of the three youths. The government will not turn back from its operation. We cannot disclose much at this stage,” he said.
This is the first incident of conflict between Meiteis and Kukis since July 13, when armed Kuki groups attacked Meitei residents in Bishnupur’s Torbung Bangla. In the last few months, at least 50 people have died in the northeastern state, the majority in clashes between Nagas and Kukis.
He added that any new recruitment by groups previously covered under the SoO arrangement during the period without an extension would be treated as illegal and would invite stringent legal action.
The ethnic clashes in Manipur first began between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community. The state’s Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have shut each other out from the areas they dominate since the ethnic clashes began in May 2023, leaving at least 260 people dead and displacing 60,000.
The Meiteis, mostly Hindu, live largely in the Imphal Valley. The Kukis, predominantly Christian, reside in the hills. The state government has maintained that there are no buffer zones dividing communities in the state, but it has identified certain sensitive areas.
The Naga-Kuki tensions intensified following two ambushes on May 13 that left four people, including three church leaders, dead. In the aftermath of the ambushes, 48 people were taken hostage, triggering protests, shutdowns and a blockade along all three national highways in the state.
A new government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of President’s Rule. It includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain ethnic balance.